The most powerful earthquake in 40 years erupted under the Indian Ocean near Sumatra on December 26, 2004. It caused giant, deadly waves to crash ashore in nearly a dozen countries, killing tens of thousands. A long stretch of Sri Lanka's coast was devastated by these killer waves, with more than 40,000 dead and staggering 2.5 million people displaced. Although 1,600km from the epicentre, the waves struck with huge force and swept inland as far as 5 kilometres. Waves as high as six meters had crashed into coastal villages, sweeping away people, cars and even a train with 1700 passengers.  It was the worst human disaster in Sri Lanka history.

The Lotus Children’s Foundation was formed and is dedicated to the millions of children whose lives were changed by the earthquake and tsunami in Sri Lanka. Many thousands of children lost their lives and many surviving children lost one or both parents. Children – especially those living in poverty – are the most vulnerable victims of a disaster and its aftermath.

Through this web site, we bring the story of our emergency response and our endeavour for the future aimed at helping rebuild children’s lives. We account for our spending and budget priorities for our work, made possible by the generous outpouring of donations from across the world.